McKeever brothers team up for another Paralympic gold

Brian McKeever (left) celebrates winning the gold medal in Monday's visually impaired 20 km cross-country event with his guide and brother, Robin, at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Whistler.

Photograph by: Mark van Manen
, PNG

WHISTLER, B.C. — One brother said 10 kilometres wasn’t a good distance for him. The other said he’s no good at cross-country’s classic skiing style.

So much for pre-race warnings.

Brian McKeever and his guide, brother Robin, won their second gold medal of the Paralympic Games on Thursday in the 10-km classic cross-country race.

It wasn’t a perfect race for the pair from Canmore, Alta., the 11th duo to start and the first to cross the finish line.

“There were some issues out on the course,” Robin McKeever said. “We were trying to race in sync and it just wasn’t there . . . I race differently, with more power skiing, and he’s long distance. I was doing minor sprints at the top and he was hurting.”

Said Brian: “Classic may be my race, but 10 kilometres is definitely not. I just don’t have that speed in my body. Robin was pulling me, so it was hard to be in sync. I was just trying to hold pace and keep up.”

McKeever became the fourth Canadian to win multiple medals at these Games, joining fellow Nordic skier Colette Bourgonje — who added a bronze to the medal tally on Thursday — and alpine skiers Lauren Woolstencroft and Viviane Forest.

Canada sits fourth in the standings with 12 medals — six gold, three silver and three bronze — behind Russia, Ukraine and Germany.

The McKeevers, who won their first gold medal in the 20-km event, have been battling colds all week and pulled out of Wednesday’s biathlon to rest and focus on their “best events.”

It was clearly the right call.

“It was a hard decision (to pull out) but it’s such a tight schedule,” Brian said. “Biathlon is an iffy event in the first place; you have a bad day on the range and it’s over.”

Bourgonje, meanwhile, said she was happy to win bronze in the women’s five-km cross-country sit-ski, especially with fourth-place finisher Olena Iurkovska of Ukraine not far behind. Liudmila Vauchok won gold after crossing the line at 14:56.6, followed by Germany’s Andrea Eskau (15:11.4) and Bourgonje at 15:16.4. Iurkovska finished at 15:19.7.

“I’m very grateful to have this,” said Bourgonje, who won a silver medal earlier at the Games. “It’s my last Paralympic Games and what a way to end it in Canada.”

Bourgonje, who doesn’t yet know if she’ll compete in the relay, still has the spring to go. She said she’s been buoyed by the support during the Paralympic Games and was moved to tears when she opened her mailbox and found a bunch of pins from Porcupine Plain, Sask., where she hasn’t lived since she was 18.

“It’s great to compete in Canada and I’m just grateful for all the support,” she said. “I definitely want to give back to sport; sport is so powerful. It’s drawn our nation together. It’s definitely improved the quality of life for (Paralympians). The legacy from these Games will be phenomenal.”

Bourgonje, a teacher, is currently living in Canmore, but said her dream is for her and her partner George to buy a 160-acre parcel of land in Saskatchewan and develop the area for anyone who wants to ski.

People can cross-country ski until they’re 100, she said, adding she’s taken a leaf out of Rick Hansen’s book: “There’s a quote in it that says ‘the end is just the beginning’ and I absolutely believe in that.”

Brian McKeever (left) celebrates winning the gold medal in Monday's visually impaired 20 km cross-country event with his guide and brother, Robin, at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Whistler.

Photograph by: Mark van Manen, PNG

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